Two officers arrested over shooting dead of six-year-old Louisiana boy.

Jeremy Mardis was shot dead and his father was wounded when marshals openedfire on their car in Marksville, Louisiana.

Photograph: Chris Few/Facebook

Two of the four police marshals involved in the shooting dead of asix-year-old autistic boy in Louisianahave been arrested, the head of the state police has said.

Colonel Mike Edmonson gave few details of the arrests at a late-night pressconference on Friday.But speaking about the body camera footage that was recovered from theofficers, he said: “It is the most disturbing thing I’ve seen, and I will leaveit at that.”Six-year-old Jeremy Mardis was shot and killed and his father, Chris Few, waswounded when officers opened fire on their vehicle on Tuesday night in thecentral Louisiana town of Marksville.Edmonson said that the two officers, Norris Greenhouse and Derrick Stafford,were being booked on charges of second-degree murder and attempted second-degreemurder in the shooting.Both were working secondary jobs in Marksville as marshals when the shootinghappened, Edmonson said.State police have been investigating the shooting that raised questionsalmost from the start. Edmonson said earlier that no weapon was foundin the vehicle.State police are combing through forensic evidence, 911 calls, conductinginterviews and reviewing the body camera footage, Edmonson said, as theinvestigation continued.Two other officers were involved in the incident. When Edmonson was askedwhether he anticipated any more arrests, he said: “We’ll see where it takes us.” It was still unclear what led police to pursue Few and what triggered theshooting. The parish coroner said earlier this week that the officers wereserving a warrant on Few when he fled, but Edmonson later said he had noinformation about a warrant.Few’s 57-year-old stepfather, Morris German, has accused the marshals ofindiscriminately opening fire on the vehicle. German said Few was heavilysedated in hospital, unable to talk and had bullet fragments lodged in his brainand lung. He described Few as a loving father and added the man’s son “was hiswhole life”.German added that the six-year-old had been diagnosed with autism, describinghim as a delightful child who “loved everything, everybody”. German said the boyhad no siblings and the family had recently moved to Marksville fromHattiesburg, Mississippi.“I know a six-year-old should not have been shot,” German said.